


In Perfect Harmony/Perfect Inharmony

by tillyenna



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: AU not a hockey player, Angst, Don't say I didn't warn you, Mental Illness, No happiness here, Not A Happy Ending, Not Hockey Players (Hockey RPF), Sad, Stalker, Stalking, Whump, really there won't be any joy at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:01:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24787363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tillyenna/pseuds/tillyenna
Summary: Alex thought that when he'd left Erie the creepy guy who followed him after every game would become a thing of the past - that thought goes out the window when he turns up in Chicago.Dylan knows that Alex has been struggling with his transition from juniors - and what is a best friend for, if not to help you through these difficult times, even if Alex isn't being the greatest friend in the world back right now - nothing will change what's happened between them.
Relationships: Lyndsey Bice/Alex DeBrincat, unrequited Dylan Strome/Alex Debrincat
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	In Perfect Harmony/Perfect Inharmony

**Author's Note:**

> This is not a happy story. Please do not read this expecting a happy story, or a happy ending. IT HAS NEITHER.
> 
> It also contains unpleasant stalker related themes. These include erm, lying, a lot of lying, death threats, emotional manipulation, gaslighting.
> 
> HUGE HUGE thanks to [Kira](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kkane88/pseuds/Kkane88) for the beta read and giving me the confidence that this fic hits where I wanted it to. RIGHT IN THE FEELS

Seabs comes back from the bar to the VIP area, and nudges Alex “Hey there’s some guy who’s asking for you, like crazy tall, weird facial hair.”

“Fuck.” Alex swears, he thought he’d left all that behind in Erie

“You know him?” Seabs’ face expresses just what he thinks of the tall weird stranger

“Ugh, sort of. Like, a bit. I played with him for a month or something in juniors… his brother plays for the oilers, but he’s a bit…. Weird.” Alex wonders if that’s the best way to describe it, weird doesn’t cover the fact that he’d turned up at every single party they’d had when he was an Otter, weird doesn’t explain this guy staring across the room, meeting his eyes every time Alex looks up.

“So not a friend?” Seabs laughs, “Is he your number one fan? He’s wearing your jersey.”

Alex rolls his eyes, number one fan is one way to describe it, but not only had this guy been at every single one of Alex’s games as an otter, and ok, like a few of them he’d been a player, but he’d been dropped after less than a dozen games, but it didn’t begin to explain everything about him. It didn’t explain the way he had of looking up information about Alex, and then acting like Alex had told him, the way he tried to insert himself in their friendship group, the way he acted like he was one of them, even though he’d never really been one of them.

Still, Alex appreciates the warning from Seabs so he can steel himself before walking out into the main area of the bar – and there he is, tall lanky frame, eyes on Alex as they always were.

“Alex, hey!” He gives his usual manic wave.

Alex gives a tight smile, “Hey Stromer.”

_ It’s been a while since he’s seen Alex, which Dylan guessed was probably because he’d been so busy with the transition between Erie and Chicago. The second the draft had happened, Dylan had started looking for jobs in Chicago, because of course his best friend would want him here at his side. _

_ It’s not as easy as it had been in Erie - he knew all the guys there, and he knew where the parties happened, the places the team frequented, and they weren’t important enough to have VIP areas in bars. Still, Dylan respects that Alex needs time to bond with his new team, and he can give him that. _

It seems like every time it’s Alex’s turn to go to the bar to get their drinks, Dylan is right there.

“So how’s Chicago?” Dylan asks him as he’s waiting for the bartender’s attention.

“It’s ok.” Alex hates the silence, hates the awkwardness that encompasses Dylan Strome’s presence. “How come you’re here? I thought you stayed in Erie.”

Dylan shrugs, “Got a job in Chicago?” He grins at Alex, “What’s the chances of that eh? You and me in the same city again.” He bumps his shoulder against Alex’s.

“Yeah.” Alex mutters, “Crazy.” He had hoped that leaving Erie would mean leaving Dylan Strome behind, leaving the fact that he came to every single one of their games, followed them out to bars, ended up crashing the parties they were invited to – it wasn’t so bad in Erie, because whilst it was Alex he always sought out, there were other guys on the team who knew him, here it feels like there’s nothing that’s standing between him and Dylan Strome.

Thankfully, the bartender comes to his rescue, and he gets out his order, before heading back to the VIP area. “See you around Stromer.”

“Bye Alex,” Dylan waves at him, “See you soon.”

Alex bites back a groan, because it sounds like a promise.

_ He hasn’t seen Alex in a while, which makes him worried. He’d texted him a few times, but probably moving to the states meant he’d got a new number, and whilst Dylan had obviously texted him his new number since they were going to be in the same city and all, maybe Alex hadn’t had time to. Dylan knows better than most that being an NHL star is a busy and exhausting world – Alex is lucky to have such a chill friend. _

_ Still, it’s nice to see him at the bar after a game, and whilst the team obviously don’t want people’s friends hanging around, Alex still comes into the main area of the bar to see him. _

_ “Tough loss eh?” He bumps their shoulders together. _

_ “Yeah.” Alex seems tense, as always. _

_ “Hey, so I saw on your insta you got a dog, Ralphie right?” _

_ Alex looks up at him, “Uh yeah, yeah I guess I did.” _

_ “It’s nice.” Dylan grins, “Like, I know how you feel, it’s lonely in a big city, I got a dog recently too actually,” he laughs a little to himself, “So weird how alike we are sometimes.” _

_ Alex is staring up at him, and Dylan realises he’s probably feeling bad for being such a distant friend recently. _

_ “It’s cool,” He grins at him, “Like, we can meet up and take them for a walk together sometime.” _

_ “Sure.” It doesn’t seem to have relaxed Alex at all, but honestly, Dylan doesn’t mind. _

_ “Hey,” he nudges Alex, before leaning in conspiratorially, “The cute blonde in the red dress hasn’t taken her eyes off you by the way.” It’s not that he wants Alex to hook up with random puck bunnies, honestly, Alex is too good for them, but still, pointing out girls who are into you is what bros do. _

_ “Thanks Stromer.” Alex grabs his drink, “But I’ve got to…” _

_ “Of course,” Dylan grins, “Commiserate with the boys, just like text me or whatever when you want to meet up.” Of course, if Alex texts him, that means he’s actually going to have to get a dog…. Still, it can’t be that hard can it? _

__

Alex knows vaguely that Dylan’s at every game, he appears usually in the parking lot after games to give Alex a few words about games, especially if it seems like the team won’t be hitting up one of their usual bars. Alex has started to think of it as just an extension of his media duties.

“Hey,” Dylan’s leaning against his car as usual, “Tough game huh?”

Alex shrugs, it’s been a tough series of home losses, which always sucks. “You know how it is.”

Dylan nods, like he does know how it is, “You seem tense,” he’s got one hand on Alex’s shoulder, squeezing his shoulder muscles, “Let me know if I can do anything.”

Alex can’t help the confused look he gives, he usually tries to school his expressions around Dylan, but he’s so thrown he can’t help it.

“I know,” Dylan lowers his voice like he’s sharing some kind of secret, “We’re not in juniors anymore,” he smiles a small secret smile at Alex, “But I’m always here for you.”

Alex finds he’s opening his mouth to speak, but there’s no words coming out, Dylan’s hand has moved from his shoulder to his face and he’s stroking his thumb along Alex’s cheekbone.

“I won’t tell,” Dylan whispers, “If you want us to be like we were.” He bites his lip, and Alex feels like he’s trying to act sexy, “If you want to do things like we used to.”

Alex wonders if this is what out of body experiences feel like, he wants to pull away from Dylan’s touch, but he can’t seem to move himself. Fortunately for him, Kaner and Tazer appear at the players entrance, stepping out into the car park, and Dylan takes half a step backwards shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Text me,” Dylan smiles, and then turns to walk away – Alex wonders briefly if it’s the first time Dylan’s ever been the one to end a conversation between them.

The second he gets home, he opens his phone to text Connor.

- Weird question, did I ever get horrifically drunk and hook up with Strome in Erie?

Connor’s reply is instant

- Creepy Strome? Erm, not that I know of?

He follows it a few seconds later with

- Why?

Alex can’t even begin to explain it.

- He’s being creepy. Like, he implied that we did, but I have no memory of it ever happening.

He can hear Connor’s laugh in the reply.

- LMAO, that’s peek creepy strome right there. You know I used to play with his brother right?

Alex gives a little shudder, he can’t imagine what playing with a strome is like.

- Is he as creepy?

Connors reply says more about Dylan than his older brother Ryan

- He’s human. Which feels weird for a strome.

__

_ “So,” Dylan’s finally managed to find Alex in the bar, he swears this place is so crowded, “Things are pretty serious with you and Lyndsey then.” _

_ Alex nods at him, “Yeah, I guess so.” _

_ Dylan snorts, “So tight lipped,” he bumps their shoulders together, “She give you a road agreement?” _

_ Alex just raises an eyebrow at him, clearly questioning. _

_ “Dude!” Dylan laughs, slapping him playfully, “Not for me,” he lowers his voice, “Christ, this isn’t Juniors” he shakes his head, “I more meant the chick in the green dress,” he flicks his eyes over towards her, “She’s been following you with her eyes all night.” _

_ “Oh,” Alex mutters, “Yeah, no, Lynds and I are pretty serious.” _

_ Dylan shrugs, “Not like I’m gonna tell on you if you want to hit that.” _

_ “I really need to get back to the guys,” Alex apologises, which Dylan gets that. Team bonding is important. _

Alex doesn’t get to walk the dog as much as he wants to – the perils of a punishing on season schedule, but he’s got an off day, and Lysndey does as well, so they spend the time to take Ralph down to the dog park.

“Oh God,” Lyndsey moans as soon as they get there, “That guys is here again.”

Alex raises an eyebrow at her?

“There’s this creepy guy at the dog park,” she explains, “Like, he has a dog, and I’m sure there’s nothing and it’s just my mind, but I always feel like he’s watching me. It’s like he’s here every time I come.”

“Which one?” Alex asks quietly.

“Over in the far corner, red t-shirt, really tall.”

As soon as the words are out of her mouth, Alex knows who it is, before he even looks, and sure as day, there’s Dylan stood over in the far corner. “Fuck,” he swears, “That’s Dylan, he’s probably going to come over and talk to me.”

“You know him?” Lyndsey squeaks.

“Not really,” Alex winces, “Like, I played with him a little during Juniors, and he thinks we’re a lot closer than we are.”

“Can we just,” Lyndsey’s tugging on his arm, “let’s just go home.”

But it’s too late, because Dylan’s spotted them, striding across the park, his long legs making the distance in no time at all. “Alex,” he calls out, waving manically.

Alex plasters his media smile on, and squeezes Lyndsey’s hand, “He’s harmless,” he assures her, “Irritating, but harmless.”

“Hey Alex,” Dylan beams as he gets closer, he’s tugging a golden retriever along with him, and he instantly crouches down, “Hey Ralphie, how are you doing?” He turns to his own dog, “Look Wriggles, it’s Ralphie.”

As the dogs sniff at each other, Dylan stands up and holds out a hand to Lyndsey, “You must be Lyndsey,” he grins, “Alex has told me so much about you.”

Lyndsey can’t stop her eyes from widening at Alex in question, and he sends her a minute shrug, but Dylan is already turning his attention back to Alex. “How about that game on Thursday eh?” he grins, “You boys really chipped away at the wild.”

“Yeah,” Alex nods, he can talk hockey bullshit, he just has to treat Dylan like a media interview, “Just getting pucks on net, y’know?”

“Yeah,” Dylan laughs, clapping him on the shoulder, “Reminded me of the knights, y’know?”

Alex nods vaguely, but Dylan’s already on a different tact.

“Sorry,” he turns to Lyndsey, “You probably get enough hockey chat – tell me more about yourself, Alex said you work in events yeah?”

Lyndsey nods, she’s not entirely sure what’s happening, because Alex had said he didn’t know this guy, but here he is, and clearly they’ve been talking about her. “Yeah,” she nods noncommittally, “Just project management stuff,”

“With Rebel yeah right?” Dylan nudges Alex’s shoulder, “I’m sure that’s what you said…” he follows them round the dog park, chatting inanely.

They put it up with it for fifteen minutes, and then Alex is saying they need to get home, and making up lies about things he has to do.

“The fuck?” Lyndsey turns to him the second they’re out of earshot, “You said you don’t know him, but you talk to him about me?”

“Lynds,” Alex turns to her, letting her see quite how freaked out he is, “I swear to you, I’ve never told him a word about you. I never tell him anything.”

“He knew where I worked.”

Alex nods, “That’s kind of what Dylan does… he looks up stuff about you online and then he acts like you told him.” He shudders a little, “It’s freaky as fuck, and I’m sorry he did it to you babe.”

_ Finding out that your best friend has gotten engaged via Instagram is the worst possible way to find out – Dylan should have been there with Alex, choosing the ring, but he’s been drifting away ever since they got to Chicago. Dylan knows who’s fault it is – it’s her fault. She’s always been there, meddling in their friendship, probably whispering lies in Alex’s ears about how he shouldn’t be spending time with Dylan. It’s borderline abusive, she shouldn’t be controlling who he’s friends with. He feels the anger burn underneath his skin – he’d printed out the picture for the latest scrapbook, but he has a better idea for it now. The tiktok video is an afterthought – it’s funny though, and Dylan knows Alex will see the humour, they’ve always found the same things funny. _

The first Alex hears about it, is a shaken phone call from Lyndsey in the middle of the day, “Can you come meet me at work?” She sounds like she’s been crying.

“Of course babe,” he’s already slipping his shoes on, “What’s up.”

“Just,” She sniffs, “Just get here Alex, I don’t want to talk about this on the phone.”

His instinct as soon as he gets there is to pull her into his arms. “Babe,” he whispers softly, “What’s wrong?”

Lyndsey just hands him over an opened envelope, and Alex’s heart sinks as he recognises the handwriting.

It contains a picture of Alex and Lyndsey but her face has been scratched off, and the wording on the back says “You’ll die before you marry him bitch.” Alex feels the blood drain from his face, “We need to take this to the police babe,”

Lyndsey nods, “Already called them,” she nods towards her boss, “Maggie’s been amazing, but they said I had to go down to the station, and I didn’t want to go without you.”

“Of course.” Alex presses a soft kiss to her cheek, ignoring the tear tracks in her foundation, “I’m right here with you.”

They’re shown into a quiet room at the station, after Alex signs a few signatures for the officers who are present, and a detective asks Lyndsey questions about who it might have been.

“I’ve no idea,” she tells them, before turning to Alex, “Unless…”

Alex sighs, “It looks like Dylan’s handwriting, he’s sent me enough random notes over the years.”

“Who is this character?” The detective asks.

“Dylan Strome,” Alex feels his jaw tighten just saying his name, “He’s been obsessed with me for years, like, he follows me to games to bars, I always thought he was harmless, but….” He can’t help but look at the note, “If anything happens…”

“Mr DeBrincat,” The detectives voice is calm, soothing almost, “We won’t let anything happen to either you or Ms Bice.”

_ Two unformed officers turn up at his door, which is crazy – and Wrigley jumps around the apartment going crazy with excitement. “Can I help you?” Dylan’s nothing if not polite, he is Canadian after all. _

_ “Sir, we’re here to serve you with this restraining order,” they hand a piece of paper over to him, “And to inform you that any further attempts to contact either Mr DeBrincat or Ms Bice will be treated as an offense.” _

_ “Alex?” Dylan sticks his head out the door, looking down the corridor, “This is the weirdest prank ever.” There’s no sign of Alex. _

_ “This isn’t a prank Sir,” one of the officers is still holding out a piece of paper, and Dylan snatches it out of his hands. _

_ “This is crazy,” he stares down at it, “Like, of all the pranks Alex has played over the years….” He can’t believe Alex has taken it this far. _

__

The last thing Alex wanted was for this to affect his work, but he can’t risk Lyndsey being at the games with Dylan there, so he makes an appointment with Brian, who’s their head of security, and explains everything that’s been going on.

“I’m sorry you’ve had to go through this Alex,” Brian’s an older guy, but his build still belies his days working security, “We’ll obviously make sure he doesn’t attend any games here at UC.”

“Thanks,” Alex finds his twisting his hands nervously, “I mean, the restraining order means he shouldn’t try, but…”

“But no harm in making sure we’ve got things tight at our end as well,” Brian smiles softly, “We’ve got your back Alex. Now, is there anything we can do to help you feel more at ease on the road?”

__

_ “You don’t understand.” Dylan turns to the security guard who has his hand on his shoulder, leading him out of the arena, “Alex is my friend, I’m just here to watch him play.” _

_ “I’ve been asked to remove you from the Arena Sir,” The security guard isn’t as tall as Dylan, but he’s bulkier, and Dylan doesn’t think he could take him if it came to a fight. _

_ “Just talk to Alex, Alex DeBrincat, he’ll clear all this up.” _

_ “As of the moment, management have asked that you not be on the premises, I’m just doing my job Sir, you understand that?” _

_ Dylan nods sulkily, of all the pranks Alex has played on him, this has got to be the worst. He texts Alex, and then sends him a DM on Instagram in case he didn’t get the text, and tweets him a couple of times just to make sure, but the next time he turns up at the United Centre, the answer is the same, you can’t come in. _

__

It’s been a few months since he last saw Dylan, and honestly, the last thing he expects when he’s at Maddison Square Gardens, in the away team locker room, is Ryan Strome sticking his head around the door.

“Hey DeBrincat,” the older Strome calls out, “Can I talk to you for a sec…”

Alex sighs, and rolls his eyes, but there’s no reason to upset a guy he hardly knows, so he goes out into the corridor. His heart stops when he sees Dylan a few paces behind Ryan.

“Dylan!” He can’t keep the worried tone out of his voice, “You aren’t supposed to be here. The restraining order is quite clear.”

“Please,” It’s Ryan who speaks up, “Just hear him out.”

“Hear him out?” Alex lets out a little sarcastic chuckle, “He sent my fiancée a fucking death threat.”

Ryan turns to Dylan with a look of horror on his face, and it becomes clear to Alex that Dylan hasn’t told his brother the whole story.

“She’s not good enough for you!” Dylan blurts out, “You know she isn’t. She doesn’t love you enough.”

“Dylan,” Alex groans softly, “This isn’t anything to do with you.”

“I’m your best friend Alex!” Dylan’s yelling at him now, and Alex has no doubt that it’s going to draw the rest of his team out from the locker room. “It should matter that I’m trying to save you.”

“You’re not my friend Dylan!” Alex tries to keep calm, but he can feel the anger rising. “You’ve never been my friend.”

Dylan lets out a frustrated wail, “Why do you always have to be so hurtful Alex. I’m only trying to help you.”

“By hurting my partner?”

“By making you realise she’s not good enough for you, what the two of you have is nothing.” Dylan’s pacing now, his hands waving around wildly. “She doesn’t love you like I do.”

Alex starts backing towards the locker room, he doesn’t dare look over his shoulder to see which of his teammates are watching this car crash. “I don’t know you Dylan.”

“How can you say things like that!” Dylan takes half a step towards him, “How can you just ignore everything that happened during Juniors.”

Alex turns his pleading eyes on Ryan Strome, “There’s nothing to ignore Dylan,” he tries to keep his voice soft and low, screaming at Dylan isn’t going to get him anywhere, “I don’t know what you remember Dylan, but nothing happened.”

“Alex!” Dylan starts biting at the inside of his own arm, “So everything between us is just what? All in my head?” He lets out a little laugh, “Don’t be ridiculous Alex.”

Alex gives up, “Ryan, can you take your brother away before I call the police, because he’s in violation of the restraining order.”

Ryan nods, tugging Dylan’s arm softly, “Come on Dyl,” he doesn’t look back towards Alex as he leads Dylan away, “Why don’t we talk about this at home.”

__

_ “I think you need help Dyl,” Ryan says, one hand on Dylan’s shoulder. _

_ “Thank you!” Dylan sighs with exasperation, “Finally, someone’s listening to me.” He looks down at his big brother, “Do you see how unreasonable he’s being?” He takes the surprised look on Ryan’s face as permission to keep telling his side of the story, “All I’ve ever wanted is to be a good friend to Alex, and this is how he repays me?” _

_ Ryan frowns, “Can I see your phone Dyl?” He asks softly, holding out a hand, “I wanna see what he says to you.” _

_ “Oh,” Dylan shrugs, “You won’t find anything, he stopped replying to my messages a while ago.” _

_ Ryan pulls a face, “I’m,” he sighs, running his hand through his hair, “I just wanna call Mom Dylan, I think she needs to know what’s going on here.” _

_ Dylan nods, his family has his back, they’ve always had his back. _

They’re playing the Rangers again a few weeks later, but at home in the UC, and when Alex gets stopped in the corridor by Ryan Strome his heart sinks. “Look…” he starts.

“I want to apologise.” Ryan blurts out, he’s careful not to stand too close to Alex, “And I want to let you know that Dylan won’t bother you anymore.”

“That’s good.” Alex feels something settle in his chest.

“He’s getting help,” Ryan nods, almost as if he’s talking to himself, “He’s in a facility back home, near our parent’s house.”

“I’m glad.” Alex finds he’s speaking the truth, he’s always been a little bit scared of Dylan, but he’s never wished harm on him.

“I went to clean out his apartment before getting here,” Ryan carries on, “It was…” he winces, “Eye opening.”

Alex lets out a low chuckle, he can only imagine.

“Erm, I think some of the stuff might be yours…” Ryan’s shifting nervously from one foot to the other.

“Burn it.” Alex grins, “If I haven’t missed it already, I won’t miss it.”

“Cool, cool,” Ryan’s scrubbing an exhausted hand across his face, and Alex feels a little sorry for him.

“It’s not your fault.”

“Honestly,” Ryan sighs, “We had no idea, the way he spoke about you, I thought you guys were good buddies.”

“I barely knew him.”

“I get that now.” Ryan sounds broken, but he’s clearly trying his best to make this as easy on Alex as possible. “Look, if there’s anything me or my family can do…”

“Honestly?” Alex interrupts him, “Yeah there is.” He looks up into Ryan’s earnest face, “Stay the fuck away from me. Like, I know you haven’t done anything wrong, but if I never see another Strome in my life it’ll be too soon.”

Ryan swallows, and nods, backing away slightly, “You got it DeBrincat.” He gives Alex a tired smile, before turning to head back to the away team locker room, “See you never Alex.”

Alex lets out a breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding, “See you never Stromer.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'M SO SORRY  
> I'm not really.
> 
> Also, for those of you who are worried, Wriggles goes to live with Ryan or Matty - or maybe their parents, he does NOT get abandoned in Chicago. Like, I'm cruel.... but I'm not that cruel.
> 
> Also, ALSO... I love Dylan Strome a truly crazy amount... like, please do not @ me being all "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO OUR PRECIOUS DYLAN" because trust me.... I adore that giant bundle of awkward so much SO SO MUCH. But fiction is fun, and idk, sometimes I write not fluff... who knew?
> 
> [@princesstillyenna](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/princesstillyenna) on tumblr if you wanna chat about adorable strome or other adorable hockeys.


End file.
